A CREW member from the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship is feared drowned after falling overboard into the Atlantic.

Colleagues on the Cunard flagship spent five hours looking for the man as they made their way from Southampton to Halifax in Canada.

But a spokeswoman for operator Cunard said the search has now been called off.

She said: "A search was carried out for a missing crew member on Queen Mary 2. It has been clearly established that the crew member went overboard.

"The ship was off the coast of Newfoundland and, in association with local authorities, it carried out an extensive search of the area in which he went overboard but unfortunately there were no sightings.

"Having discussed this with experts ashore, there is no possibility that the crew member could have survived this long in the water and we therefore have to presume that he died in the water

Operator Cunard spokeswoman

"Having discussed this with experts ashore, there is no possibility that the crew member could have survived this long in the water and we therefore have to presume that he died in the water.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, which is being informed, as well as friends and his colleagues on board."

The ship, which left Southampton on Tuesday, is scheduled to arrive in Halifax on Monday.

The crewman is believed to have fallen from the Cunard flagship in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The cruise liner turned around to retrace its route to search for the man.